Egg laying registering apparatus



July 31, 1934. G. DOULL 1,968,337

EGG LAYING REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 27, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet lJuly 31, 1934. DOULL 1,968,337

EGG LAYING REGISTERING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 27, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2M/VE/VTOR 1977'0/7/Vf V Patented July 31, 1934 UNITED STATES retain EGGLAYING REGISTERING APPARATUS George Doull, Castletown, ScotlandApplication November 2 In Great Britain 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for automatically registeringthe number of eggs laid by any hen of a flock of hens, irrespective ofthe size of the flock.

According to this invention each hen carries attached to one of itswings a magnetically operated registering instrument which is preferablycontained in a hermetically sealed capsule made of transparent material,through which the counting index can be read. This registeringinstrument is adapted to cooperate with a magnet placed at the exit ofthe laying nest, means being provided for preventing the hen fromwalking through this magnet and thus registering on the instrumentunless she has laid an egg. The nest may com prise a trap-nest of anysuitable construction provided that it has separate entrance and exitdoors whichso operate. that the'hen may only enter by the entrance doorand, after she has laid an egg, only leave by the exit door.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, it will nowbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show onemethod of carrying it into effect, and in which:--

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a suitable form of nest.

Fig. 2 shows a section along the line A-A of Fi 1.

Fig. 3 shows a suitable form of construction of the permanent magnet.

Fig. 4 shows a detail which is embodied when' an electromagnet is used.

Fig. 5 shows a front view of the registering instrument.

Fig. 6 shows a side view of the registering instrument with the forwardplate 30 removed.

Fig. '7 shows an enlarged perspective view of the mechanism of theregistering device looking upwardly.

Fig. 8 shows an enlarged view of a detail of the mechanism of theregistering instrument.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of Fig. 5, partly in section.

A particularly suitable form of constructionof the trap-nest is shown inFigs. 1 and 2 which is so arranged that only one bird can go in at atime, but before it lays an egg it can only leave by the same passagethat it went in. Immediately on laying an egg, however, the entrancepassage is closed and the hen must leave by the exit passage andconsequently pass through the magnet arranged thereabout and thusoperate the registering instrument. According to another feature of thenest described, if the hen lays an egg below a predetermined weight sheis shut in 7, 1929, Serial No. 410,204 November 28. 1928 the nest andcannot get out in any way and must be liberated by hand and thus can, ifdesired, be eliminated from the first class layers. The nestconstruction described is particularly advantageous in that it onlyallows hens to pass through the magnet which have laid eggs above apredetermined weight, detains the layers of small eggs, and liberatesbroodies, cocks and other hens who fail to lay after entering the nest.

Referring to the drawings which show the arrangement of two nestsin oneframe, 1 and 2 are the entrance passages to the separate nests at theback of which the actual laying nests 21 are provided. 4 and'5 are twoboxes constructed in the form shown, which are provided in their loweredges with notches 6 so that the boxes be pivoted about the top edge ofthe lower front board '7 of the frame. By lifting the boxes, it will beseen that they may be easily pulled forward and removed from theframework of the nest, for cleaning purposes. The boxes are so balancedthat they tend to tilt forward in the position shown by 4 if no otherforces are exerted thereon. The boxes have no backs but are providedwith complete floors 8 reaching well to the rear as shown in Fig. 2. Theboxes are provided at the top with platforms 9 pivoted at 10, the frontparts of which are heavier than the back parts so that the platformstend to remain in the position shown, a stop 9' being provided to limitthe movement of the platforms.

A gate 12 is pivoted to the inside of the nest roof at 11, and is heldin position against the roof by a pin 13 which engages with a pivotedlever 14. The lever 14 is pivoted unequally at 15, the top end being theheavier. At the lower end of the lever is arranged a pin 16 againstwhich the underside of the platform 9 engages when a bird walksthereover. When the platform 9 bears on the pin 16 the lever 14 is movedand lets the pin 13 fall over the front edge of the lever.

The laying compartment is arranged at the back of the nest and consistsof a fine wire net platform 21 inclined towards one corner so that theegg rolls out through the opening 18 and onto the padded platform 17pivoted as shown. The forward end of this platform carries an extensionwith a notched end 19 which is adapted to engage with a pin 20 fixed onthe side of the box to hold this latter in the position shown at 5.

When the hen enters the entrance 2 (Fig. 1) her weight on the inner sideof platform 9 bears on the pin 18 which depresses the lower end of lever14:, and thereby releases the gate 12 which closes behind her. If shewishes to get out again she simply pushes the gate 12 out before her,setting it up again on the top of the lever 14 or on one of the notchesin the front edge thereof. This gate, however, prevents any bird fromentering while the nest is occupied. The hen lays on the fine wire netplatform 21 and the egg rolls out through the openin 18 onto theplatform 17 thereby releasing the pin 20 and permitting the box to fallforward and take up the position as shown at 4. In this movement thelong pointed side 24 of the box lifts up the gate 12 and again sets iton the top of the lever 14. The inner edge 23 of the platform 9,however, has moved so high that the entrance passage is closedsufliciently to prevent exit of the hen. The space between the edge 23of the platform 9 and the edge 22 of the laying platform 21 has nowincreased and there is sufiic-ient room for the hen to jump down intothe box. Her weight on the back portion of the floor of the box,however, moves the box back into the position shown at 5, and leavessumcient room at 25 for the hen to move into the back exit passage 26.In the meantime, the egg has been transferred from the platform 17 tothe collecting receptacle 3 and the notch 19 thus again engages with thepin 20 to hold the box in the position ready for the next'hen.

Several nests as described, may be arranged side by side so that theexit passage 26 proceeds the wholev length of the row of nests. At theends of this passage are arranged the magnets 47 which may be eitherpermanent magnets or electromagnets or, alternatively, one end of thepassage may be closed and a magnet arranged at one end only. A suitableform of construction of the magnet is shown in Fig. 3. In this figure,the permanent magnet 4'? is shown arranged around a tubular member 46adapted to be secured in the end of the exit passage or placed on theground in front of the exit opening. Wires 48 are provided at the end ofthis tubular member which open outwards in order to prevent a bird fromentering the nest through the exit passage.

Although a particular form of construction of the magnet has been shownin the figure, it is to be understood that the magnet may be square orof any other suitable form. If an electromagnet be used it ispreferableto arrange it so that it is energized by the closure of a switch whichis actuated by the hen as it emerges through the exit passage. Asuitable form of switch is shown in Fig. 4 in which 4'? represents themagnet and 50 is a platform pivoted at 51 over which the hen has to walkin passing through the magnet. When the hen treads on this platform itcloses the contacts 52 and thus energizes the magnet to operate theregistering instrument. A spring 53 may be provided to open the contactswhen the hen moves off the platform.

In order to detain a hen in the nest should it lay too light an egg, aweight 27, supported on a bracket 28, is so connected with the frontpart of the pivoted platform 17 that this latter may rise through acertain distance without lifting the weight. If the egg is heavy enoughit also lifts the weight. and then passes into the arrangement whichtransfers the egg to the collecting tray 3, and which will be more fullydescribed later, but on the contrary, if the egg is of insufiicientweight to lift the weight-27, the end 19 of the pivoted platform 17comes in the path of movement of the stop 29 fixed tothe box as at 19.In this position the egg is still held on the platform 17 and cannotfall into the transferring arrangement. Thus it will be seen that thebox is prevented from tilting backwards when the hen walks onto the rearpart of the floor 8, and thus it is impossible for the hen to get intothe exit passage 26 since the opening 25 is too small. Also the entrancepassage is closed, due to the position of the box and thus the hen istrapped in the nest. The hen may thus be easily caught and eliminatedfrom the first class layers by lifting out the box from the nest frame.Also the egg laid can be easily selected.

The arrangement for transferring the egg from the platform 17 to thecollecting tray 3 will be more clearly understood from Fig. 2. is a rodwhich works in a slot 61 in the nest frame (see also Fig. 1) and engagesbetween the floor 8 of the box and the clip 62 secured thereto. The rod60 has secured thereto one end of a strip of fabric 63 or other suitablematerial, the other end of which is secured to the back wall of thecollecting compartment, the length of this strip of fabric being suchthat when the rod 60 is in its lowest position, the'fabric issubstantially taut. A further length of fabric 64 is connected betweenthe rod 60 and thefloor of the collecting tray 3 as shown, the length ofwhich is such that the fabric is substantially taut when the rod 60 isin its upper position. As will be clearly seen, the movement of the rod60 is controlled by the movement of the box 4. When an egg falls ontothe platform 17, the box 4 is released and lifts the rod 60 to the upperposition. When the platform 1'7 is sufiiciently tilted, the egg fallsonto the strip of fabric 63 as shown. When the hen jumps down into thebox and treads on the rear part of the floor 8, the rod 60 is-loweredand thestrip of fabric 63 thus-becomes taut and moves'the egg eitherinto the collecting tray 3 or onto the other strip of fabric 64. Whenthe next egg is laid and the box moves forward, the rod '60 again risesand, if the egg should have rested on the strip of fabric 64, it willnow be moved into the. collecting tray 3.

The construction of the registering instrument carried by each hen isclearly shown in Figs. 5, '6, '7, -8 and 9.. Fig. '7 is aperspectiveView of part of the mechanism. This device consists of two soft ironcores 31 made of thin iron plate, in the gap between the ends of whichis pivotally mounted an armature 32 also made of thin iron plate. Thearmature is pivotally mounted on small pivots 33 in the side plate 30made of brass, which interconnects the soft iron cores 31. A brass plate34 is mounted at right angles to 31 and has a hole at 36 through which athin strip of metal 37 works loosely. This strip is bent at one end tocooperate with the teeth of the counting wheel 42 and the other endcarries a cross-member 38 against the outer edge of which a member 39,secured to the armature 32, engages. A spring 40 is secured to the topof the -member 34 and tends to hold the cross-member in the'positionshown in full line at 38 (Fig. '7). The member 34, where it'is connectedto the member 31. has a portion thereof shaped as shown in Fig. 8, andthe end of the strip 37 is bent as shown so that when the armature isoperated as hereinafter described to move the member 39 and thus thecross-member into the position 380., (Fig. '7)-the end of the member 37is moved into the position 37a (Figf8) shown'in dotted lines, beyond thenext tooth of the counting wheel. Due to the member 39 and the spring 40pressing on the arm 38 which is on the side of the bearing in the member34 opposite to the end of the member 37, this latter is forced outwardsbetween the next two teeth of the counting wheel after it has been movedback over one tooth. The reverse movement of the wheel itself isprevented by the pawl 43 controlled by a spring. When the armature isreleased the end of the member 37 feeds the counting wheel round in acounter-clockwise direction by one tooth due to the action of the spring40.

The counting wheel 42 may have any suitable number of teeth, for example30 teeth, and be provided with indicating marks so that the number ofeggs laid can be ascertained. The registering instrument is providedwith circular iron end pieces 35 and is enclosed in a hermeticallysealed transparent capsule 45 provided with hooks 49 by which thecomplete registering device may be attached to the wing of the hen by apiece of string or other suitable means. The capsule is preferablyfitted right up at the root of the wing where the body of the hen is soformed that it readily accommodates the capsule, and conceals it withthe wing. The capsule is fitted on the side of the hen which will beadjacent to the gap between the ends of the magnet when the hen passestherethrough. The size of the opening blocked by the wire 48 in themagnet should not be larger than necessary but just sufiicient for a hento pass comfortably through, so that the magnet is as near to theregistering instrument as possible. The end pieces 35 which serve forpositioning the registering instrument in the capsule also help to pickup the magnetic field if they are made of iron.

The device operates as follows. When the registering instrument issubjected to the action of the magnetic field clue to the capsule beingmoved past the gap in the magnet 47, the soft iron cores 31 pick up themagnetic field and become magnetized, thereby causing the armature 32 torotate from the position shown in Fig. 6 to a position in line with thecores 31. Due to thismovement the member 39 secured to the armature 32is moved and causes the cross member 38 to be moved into the position38a shown in Fig. 7 whereby the member 37 is moved into the position3712 shown in Figs. '7 and 8 to engage with the next tooth of thecounting wheel 42. A spring-controlled pawl 43 prevents the countingwheel from being rotated backwards during this movement. When theregistering device is moved out of the magnetic field the spring 40which had been compressed by the movement of the armature causes themember 33 and the armature to be restored to their original positions bywhich movement the member 37 causes the counting wheel 42 to be movedone tooth forward.

The determination of the number of eggs laid by a hen can be ascertainedin several ways. One way is to make a note, as in a record book, of thereading or" the counting wheel opposite pointer a on a certain date. Ona following date a reading can again be made of the counting wheel andthe number of teeth passed, and likewise the number of eggs laid, sincethe preceding reading then be obtained by simple subtraction.

Another way to determine the eggs laid in a period of time is to set thecounting wheel at zero at the beginning of the period. This may be doneby detaching the capsule from a hen and manually passing it through asuitable magnetic field, as that one which is a part of the next, a

sufiicient number of times to step the counting wheel ahead until thezero marking comes opposite pointer 44 and then reattaching it to thehen. At the end of the period the number of eggs laid as shown by thenumber of teeth the wheel has been advanced, can be read directly fromthe wheel as the marking opposite the pointer 44.

As shown, the wheel has been marked off every fifth tooth to assist indetermining the number for each tooth. The proper number for each toothis determined by counting the teeth following the preceding marked toothand adding this to the marked tooth number. It must be determined ofcourse, as judged from the period elapsed between readings and the egglaying capacity of the particular hen whether or not the zero point onthe counting wheel has passed the pointer 44 and this fact be taken inconsideration in determining the eggs laid.

Preferably, each capsule is differently numbered from the others so thateach hen of the flock bears its own number.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference toone form of construction of the nest and registering instrument, it isto be understood that it is not limited to these particular forms ofconstruction but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for automatically registering the number of eggs laid bya hen in a nest, the combination of a magnetic field through which thehen must pass on leaving the nest after laying an egg, and cannot passuntil then, and a magnetically operable registering instrument adaptedto be carried by the hen comprising a counting mechanism and means foroperating said counting mechanism when the registering instrument issubmitted to the action of the field of said magnet.

2. In apparatus for automatically registering the number of eggs laid bya hen in a nest, in which the hen after laying is caused to pass throughan exit passage which is closed to the hen before she has laid an egg,the combination of a magnet associated with the exit passage and amagnetically operable registering instrument adapted to be carried bythe hen and provided with means for registering on a counting mechanismthe number of times the instrument passes through the field of saidmagnet.

3. Apparatus for automatically registering the number of eggs laid by ahen in a nest having an exit opening which is closed until an egg hasbeen laid, comprising the combination of a magnetically-operableregistering instrument adapted to be carried by the hen, and meansassociated with the exit opening of the nest which is adapted to producea magnetic field for operating said registering instrument when it ispassed therethrough.

4. Apparatus for automatically registering the number of eggs laid by ahen in a nest having an exit opening which is closed until an egg hasbeen laid, comprising the combination of a magnetically-operableregistering instrument adapted to be carried by the hen, and anelectromagnet situated at the exit opening of the nest for operating theregistering instrument when it is passed through the field of saidelectromagnet.

5. Apparatus for automatically registering the number of eggs laid by ahen in a nest having an exit opening which is closed until an egg hasbeen laid, comprising the combination of a mag been laid, comprising incombination a magnetically-operable, registering instrument comprising asoft iron core, a movable armature, a counting mechanism, means fortransmitting the motion of said armature to operate said countingmechanism, and means for producing a magnetic field at the exit openingof said nest to operate the ,v registering instrument when it is movedthereinto.

" GEORGE DOULL.

